1997 until their dissolution in 2008. The team was considered the league's first dynasty, winning the most championships of any WNBA franchise along with the Minnesota Lynx. Several of the team's members, such as Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson are considered among the greatest WNBA players of all time. The team was disbanded by the league during the Great Recession after new ownership could not be found. Professional soccer came to Houston in 2005 with the establishment of Houston Dynamo FC, which competes in the Western Conference of the MLS. Previously, the club competed as the San Jose Earthquakes before moving to Houston. The club currently plays at PNC Stadium in East Downtown Houston. In 2013, the Dynamo announced that the club had secured an expansion franchise with the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The team, named the Houston Dash, began competing in the NWSL's 2014 season. Houston was previously home to two professional ice hockey teams, both called the Houston Aeros. The first iteration of the Houston Aeros played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 until folding in 1978 after an unsuccessful bid to join the NHL. The second iteration of the Houston Aeros played in the International Hockey League from 1994 to 2001 and the American Hockey league from 2001 until the team's relocation to Des Moines, Iowa where they began the 2013-14 AHL season as the Iowa Wild. Houston has never fielded a National Hockey League (NHL) team. In 1998, former Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander made an unsuccessful attempt to relocate the NHL's Edmonton Oilers to Houston. In recent years, prominent figures in the city have expressed interest in bringing the NHL to Houston, such as current Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta. In 2017 The Athletic reported that Fertitta met with NHL representatives to discuss the viability of an NHL team in Houston. While he denied that any teams would be relocating to the city, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said, "If Houston were to express an interest in having an NHL franchise, under the right circumstances, it's something we might want to consider." Former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has also expressed interest in NHL coming to Houston. Media has speculated that the Arizona Coyotes would be the most likely candidate for relocation to Houston after the city of Glendale announced it would not renew the Coyotes lease at the Gila River Arena,